A through guide covering Modern Portfolio Theory as well as the recent developments surrounding it

Modern portfolio theory (MPT), which originated with Harry Markowitz's seminal paper "Portfolio Selection" in 1952, has stood the test of time and continues to be the intellectual foundation for real-world portfolio management. This book presents a comprehensive picture of MPT in a manner that can be effectively used by financial practitioners and understood by students.

"Modern Portfolio Theory" provides a summary of the important findings from all of the financial research done since MPT was created and presents all the MPT formulas and models using one consistent set of mathematical symbols. Opening with an informative introduction to the concepts of probability and utility theory, it quickly moves on to discuss Markowitz's seminal work on the topic with a thorough explanation of the underlying mathematics.Analyzes portfolios of all sizes and types, shows how the advanced findings and formulas are derived, and offers a concise and comprehensive review of MPT literatureAddresses logical extensions to Markowitz's work, including the Capital Asset Pricing Model, Arbitrage Pricing Theory, portfolio ranking models, and performance attributionConsiders stock market developments like decimalization, high frequency trading, and algorithmic trading, and reveals how they align with MPTCompanion Website contains Excel spreadsheets that allow you to compute and graph Markowitz efficient frontiers with riskless and risky assets

If you want to gain a complete understanding of modern portfolio theory this is the book you need to read.

The volume includes two contributions on hedge funds. One evaluates the performance of hedge funds in market environments that are conducive to active management versus environments that are not. The other provides an empirical study of the market timing skills of hedge fund managers. Additionally, we have two contributions in the area of options. One extends the real options approach to options in which the underlying assets are information items such as seismic databases (rather than tangible real assets), opening the way for a complete analysis of investments along the so-called "Virtual Value Chain." Another offers a significant improvement in the estimation of implied volatility by developing a least-squared-error approach to the problem of "smiles and frowns." We also have an analysis of whether a firm's founders can create an artificial dividend without adversely affecting the value of the firm to other investors. From Canada, we have an empirical analysis of the current uneasy case for adding real estate investments to a portfolio. From Spain is an empirical analysis of whether earnings management activities by companies lead to an increase in qualified audit reports.

The book aims to prioritise what needs mastering and presents the content in the most understandable, concise and pedagogical way illustrated by real market examples. Given the variety and the complexity of the materials the book covers, the author sorts through a vast array of topics in a subjective way, relying upon more than twenty years of experience as a market practitioner. The book only requires the reader to be knowledgeable in the basics of algebra and statistics.

The Mathematical formulae are only fully proven when the proof brings some useful insight. These formulae are translated from algebra into plain English to aid understanding as the vast majority of practitioners involved in the financial markets are not required to compute or calculate prices or sensitivities themselves as they have access to data providers. Thus, the intention of this book is for the practitioner to gain a deeper understanding of these calculations, both for a safety reason - it is better to understand what is behind the data we manipulate - and secondly being able to appreciate the magnitude of the prices we are confronted with and being able to draft a rough calculation, aside of the market data.

The author has avoided excessive formalism where possible. Formalism is securing the outputs of research, but may, in other circumstances, burden the understanding by non-mathematicians; an example of this case is in the chapter dedicated to the basis of stochastic calculus.

The book is divided into two parts:

- First, the deterministic world, starting from the yield curve building and related calculations (spot rates, forward rates, discrete versus continuous compounding, etc.), and continuing with spot instruments valuation (short term rates, bonds, currencies and stocks) and forward instruments valuation (forward forex, FRAs and variants, swaps & futures);

- Second, the probabilistic world, starting with the basis of stochastic calculus and the alternative approach of ARMA to GARCH, and continuing with derivative pricing: options, second generation options, volatility, credit derivatives;

- This second part is completed by a chapter dedicated to market performance & risk measures, and a chapter widening the scope of quantitative models beyond the Gaussian hypothesis and evidencing the potential troubles linked to derivative pricing models.

Packed with insights, Lorenzo Bergomi's Stochastic Volatility Modeling explains how stochastic volatility is used to address issues arising in the modeling of derivatives, including: Which trading issues do we tackle with stochastic volatility? How do we design models and assess their relevance? How do we tell which models are usable and when does calibration make sense? This manual covers the practicalities of modeling local volatility, stochastic volatility, local-stochastic volatility, and multi-asset stochastic volatility. In the course of this exploration, the author, Risk's 2009 Quant of the Year and a leading contributor to volatility modeling, draws on his experience as head quant in Societe Generale's equity derivatives division. Clear and straightforward, the book takes readers through various modeling challenges, all originating in actual trading/hedging issues, with a focus on the practical consequences of modeling choices.

An indispensable resource for anyone wishing to understand and successfully invest in the Nikkei. Recent years have seen steady growth in investor interest in the Japanese equity market, the second largest in the world. Japanese Equities describes how the Nikkei works, explains its driving factors and presents a collection of insightful case studies to help you successfully invest in the market. Author Michiro Naito, a former equity derivatives/quantitative strategist for J.P. Morgan Securities Japan, helps you understand the ups and downs of the market and capitalise on its money-making opportunities. Already a substantial part of many equity investor portfolios, the Nikkei exhibits characteristics that respond more sensitively to global economic conditions than other developed markets. This valuable book helps you grasp the idiosyncrasies of the market and correctly time investing decisions to maximise profits. This English translation of the original Japanese book includes additional chapters discussing recent political developments that influence the Japanese economy such as the re-election of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the trade policies of Donald Trump (the US-China trade war) and the difference in monetary policy between the Bank of Japan and the FED. This book: Offers a simple quantitative strategy to take advantage of the cyclical trends and repeating patterns of the Nikkei to attain desirable returns Explains how derivatives instruments affect the equity market, which is seldom covered in textbooks Highlights a quantitative approach supported by solid historical back-tests Discusses fundamental and technical factors that underlie the movement of the Japanese equity market Provides insights drawn from the author's decades-long research and experience working in the securities industry Japanese Equities: A Practical Guide to Investing in the Nikkei is a must-have text for investors, hedge fund and pension fund managers, academics, researchers and students of international finance.

Comprehensive coverage of the four major trading styles

Evolution of a Trader explores the four trading styles that people use when learning to trade or invest in the stock market. Often, beginners enter the stock market by: Buying and holding onto a stock (value investing). That works well until the trend ends or a bear market begins. Then they tryPosition trading. This is the same as buy-and-hold, except the technique sells positions before a significant trend change occurs. Swing trading follows when traders increase their frequency of trading, trying to catch the short-term up and down swings. Finally, people tryDay trading by completing their trades in a single day.

This series provides comprehensive coverage of the four trading styles by offering numerous tips, sharing discoveries, and discussing specific trading setups to help you become a successful trader or investor as you journey through each style.

"Trading Basics" takes an in-depth look at money management, stops, support and resistance, and offers dozens of tips every trader should know.

"Fundamental Analysis and Position Trading" discusses when to sell a buy-and-hold position, uncovers which fundamentals work best, and uses them to find stocks that become 10-baggers--stocks that climb by 10 times their original value.

"Swing and Day Trading" reveals methods to time the market swings, including specific trading setups, but it covers the basics as well, such as setting up a home trading office and how much money you can make day trading.

Sir John Templeton, legendary investor, was famous for saying, "The four most dangerous words in investing are, 'This time it's different.'" He knew that though history doesn't repeat, not exactly, history is an excellent guide for investors.

In "Markets Never Forget But People Do: How Your Memory Is Costing You Money and Why This Time Isn't Different," long-time Forbes columnist, CEO of Fisher Investments, and 4-time New York Times bestselling author Ken Fisher shows how and why investors' memories fail them--and how costly that can be. More important, he shows steps investors can take to begin reducing errors they repeatedly make. The past is never indicative of the future, but history can be one powerful guide in shaping forward looking expectations. Readers can learn how to see the world more clearly--and learn to make fewer errors--by understanding just a bit of investing past.

With so much emphasis on calls (especially covered calls) many traders overlook the tremendous hedging and profit potential of the put. The Amazing Put demonstrates the many strategies based on the put option, including the risk hedge, a long put (often a long-term, or LEAPS put) that freezes market risk at the put's strike (minus its premium); and the short uncovered put, which has market risk identical to the covered call. The author methodically lays out the case for using puts wisely, both as a cash generator with low risk, and as a risk hedge to reduce or eliminate market risk in equity positions. Every options trader will benefit from exploring these strategies, and novices will gain a starting point in developing a program to enhance their stock portfolio. Michael C. Thomsett is a market expert, author, speaker, and coach. His many books include Stock Market Math, Candlestick Charting, and Options, Tenth Edition.

Gain a deep, intuitive and technical understanding of practical options theory The main challenges in successful options trading are conceptual, not mathematical. Volatility: Practical Options Theory provides financial professionals, academics, students and others with an intuitive as well as technical understanding of both the basic and advanced ideas in options theory to a level that facilitates practical options trading. The approach taken in this book will prove particularly valuable to options traders and other practitioners tasked with making pricing and risk management decisions in an environment where time constraints mean that simplicity and intuition are of greater value than mathematical formalism. The most important areas of options theory, namely implied volatility, delta hedging, time value and the so-called options greeks are explored based on intuitive economic arguments alone before turning to formal models such as the seminal Black-Scholes-Merton model. The reader will understand how the model free approach and mathematical models are related to each other, their underlying theoretical assumptions and their implications to level that facilitates practical implementation. There are several excellent mathematical descriptions of options theory, but few focus on a translational approach to convert the theory into practice. This book emphasizes the translational aspect, while first building an intuitive, technical understanding that allows market makers, portfolio managers, investment managers, risk managers, and other traders to work more effectively within--and beyond--the bounds of everyday practice. Gain a deeper understanding of the assumptions underlying options theory Translate theoretical ideas into practice Develop a more accurate intuition for better time-constrained decision making This book allows its readers to gain more than a superficial understanding of the mechanisms at work in options markets. Volatility gives its readers the edge by providing a true bedrock foundation upon which practical knowledge becomes stronger.

This book focuses on various types of crowdfunding and the lessons learned from academic research. Crowdfunding, a new and important source of financing for entrepreneurs, fills a funding gap that was traditionally difficult to close. Chapters from expert contributors define and carefully evaluate the various market segments: donation-based and reward-based crowdfunding, crowdinvesting and crowdlending. They further provide an assessment of startups, market structure, as well as backers and investors for each segment. Attention is given to the theoretical and empirical findings from the recent economics and finance literature. Furthermore, the authors evaluate relevant regulatory efforts in several jurisdictions. This book will appeal to finance, entrepreneurship and legal scholars as well as entrepreneurs and platform operators.

The world of M&A has always been complex and nuanced. Corporations encounter their toughest business problems during a divestiture or a merger. At the same time, optimal execution of divestitures can also create high value for the seller as well as the buyer. This book is a collection of leading practices on Divestitures and covers end to end transaction life cycle from readiness through execution including post deal transformation. It contains the synthesis of experiences across a wide array of clients across industries, ranging from $500 million to $100 billion in revenue. Each chapter in this book can stand on its own as an authority on leading practices related to the topic it presents, and together, these chapters provide a comprehensive set of perspectives needed to successfully complete a divestiture. The highlight of the book is valuable real-life examples and references that a business can benefit from, when it is considering, analyzing or implementing a divestiture.

Aimed at practitioners who need to understand the current fixed income markets and learn the techniques necessary to master the fundamentals, this book provides a thorough but concise description of fixed income markets, looking at the business, products and structures and advanced modeling of interest rate instruments.

An up-to-date look at the evolution of interest rate swaps and derivatives

"Interest Rate Swaps and Derivatives" bridges the gap between the theory of these instruments and their actual use in day-to-day life. This comprehensive guide covers the main "rates" products, including swaps, options (cap/floors, swaptions), CMS products, and Bermudan callables. It also covers the main valuation techniques for the exotics/structured-notes area, which remains one of the most challenging parts of the market.Provides a balance of relevant theory and real-world trading instruments for rate swaps and swap derivativesUses simple settings and illustrations to reveal key resultsWritten by an experienced trader who has worked with swaps, options, and exotics

With this book, author Amir Sadr shares his valuable insights with practitioners in the field of interest rate derivatives-from traders and marketers to those in operations.

This book discusses capital markets and investment decision-making, focusing on the globalisation of the world economy. It presents empirically tested results from Indian and Southwest Asian stock markets and offers valuable insights into the working of Indian capital markets. The book is divided into four parts: the first part examines capital-market operations, particularly clearance and settlement processes, and stock market operations. The second part then addresses the functioning of global markets and investment decisions; more specifically it explores calendar anomalies, dependencies, overreaction effect, causality effect and stock returns volatility in South Asia, U.S. and global stock markets as a whole. Part three covers issues relating to capital structure, values of firm and investment strategies. Lastly, part four discusses emerging issues in finance like behavioral finance, Islamic finance, and international financial reporting standards. The book fills the gap in the existing finance literature and helps fund managers and individual investors make more accurate investment decisions.

Praise for "Active Value Investing"

"This book reads like a conversation with Vitaliy: deep, insightful, inquisitive, and civilized."
--Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of "The Black Swan"

"Vitaliy Katsenelson walks you through his thought processes in constructing an active value portfolio. There is not enough discussion in value investing circles about when to sell stocks, and this book advances that subject. A good balance between theoretical discussion, real anecdotes, and commonsense observations."
--David Einhorn

""Active Value Investing" clearly highlights that the stock market is not a smooth trend; rather, it has periods of surge and stall. Katsenelson explains range-bound markets and emphasizes that 'valuation matters'--the valuation paid for stocks impacts the ultimate return. Range-bound markets especially require an unconstrained process of analysis to identify undervalued securities, and Katsenelson delivers a much-needed framework to achieve superior returns."
--Ed Easterling, President, Crestmont Research, author of "Unexpected Returns: Understanding Secular Stock Market Cycles"

"A delightfully documented and detailed deconstruction of buy-and-hold dogma. A must-read for any open-minded, thinking investor--professional or individual."
--Donald Cassidy, President, Retirement Investing Institute, and author of "It's When You Sell That Counts"

""Active Value Investing" offers a rare combination of focus on value of underlying companies with appreciation for the effect of market dynamics on portfolio performance. Investors who understand both have the flexibility to succeed in a variety of markets. Katsenelson has the gift of packaging expertfinancial insight in an entertaining and educational package."
--Aaron Brown, Executive Director in Risk Methodology at Morgan Stanley author of "The Poker Face of Wall Street"

"Vitaliy has crafted a valuable assimilation of the primary market metrics that will benefit the active trader and long-term investor alike."
--Todd Harrison, founder and CEO, Minyanville Publishing & Multimedia, LLC

""Active Value Investing" has the hallmarks of all great investing books--easy to read, humorous at times, and, most of all, it demonstrates Vitaliy's investing process in terms accessible to the novice and expert alike. Despite its title, this is a book for bull, bear, or range-bound markets and will be highly recommended to our newsletter subscribers."
--Philip Durell, advisor, "The Motley Fool Inside Value"

"This will become the definitive empirical basis for analysis of the world's capital markets over the twentieth century. It is an important work of scholarship; no one else has calculated the equity premium of a large number of countries over the long term. In doing so, the book contributes to the very lively debate on the magnitude of the equity premium and will make a splash."--William Goetzmann, Yale University

"Recent years have seen unprecedented public interest in the stock market, but there is a tendency for investors to concentrate on recent U.S. stock market performance. Progress in understanding financial markets requires a much longer timeframe and a global perspective. This book presents and analyzes data from many countries in a simple, standardized way that makes comparisons easy. It makes a number of extremely important points and goes well beyond simple summaries of average returns and historical volatilities to look at such issues as seasonality and industrial structure."--John Campbell, Harvard University

"No investor can afford to risk a penny in the markets without studying this book and absorbing its fascinating lessons. That advice applies whether you are professional or amateur, a youngster or hardened from experience, bold or conservative. This book is history at its most challenging and illuminating. The facts are astonishing, the presentation dazzling, the analysis brilliant, and the lessons profound."--Peter L. Bernstein, author of "Capital Ideas" and "Against the Gods"

"This is an important addition to the investment literature and will be widely used by both the academic and business community. To have the scope of data and analysis contained inthis book available in one place represents a major contribution and improvement over what is now available."--Martin J. Gruber, New York University

This book explores the integrity of equity markets, addressing such issues as the exchange vs. customer perspective on price discovery and the ways market participants deal with key regulatory concerns. Do market practitioners pass the integrity test? How does "market integrity" play out globally? What is the overall veracity of the marketplace? These are some of the key questions considered in this volume from the viewpoints of traders, economists, financial market strategists and exchange representative. Titled after the Baruch College Financial Markets Conference, Market Integrity: Do Our Equity Markets Pass the Test?, this book is of interest to market practitioners, trading professionals, academics and students in the field of financial markets. The Zicklin School of Business Financial Markets Series presents the insights emerging from a sequence of conferences hosted by the Zicklin School at Baruch College for industry professionals, regulators and scholars. Much more than historical documents, the transcripts from the conferences are edited for clarity, perspective and context; material and comments from subsequent interviews with the panelists and speakers are integrated for a complete thematic presentation. Each book is focused on a well-delineated topic, but all deliver broader insights into the quality and efficiency of the U.S. equity markets and the dynamic forces changing them.

Written for traders with a basic knowledge of trends and technical analysis, Practical Trend Analysis introduces advanced analytical tools for recognizing how risks evolve as trends proceed. Readers will learn how to use trend prediction to manage market risks far more effectively. Michael C. Thomsett provides insights on technical signals such as candlestick reversals, price gaps, and movement through resistance or support; distinguishing between strong and weak trends; objectively evaluating the health of a stock's current price levels, trading breadth, and technical condition; and anticipating plateaus, slowdowns, or price reversals. He presents detailed coverage of trendlines and channel lines; patterns and confirmations of both reversals and continuations; broadening and narrowing trends, price jumps; and trends based on volume, moving averages, and momentum. Practical Trend Analysis will enable traders, both amateur and professional, to go far beyond mere trend "following." Michael C. Thomsett is a market expert, author, speaker, and coach. His many books include Stock Market Math, Candlestick Charting, and The Mathematics of Options.

Get a practical and thoroughly updated look at investment and portfolio management from an accomplished veteran of the discipline In Modern Portfolio Management: Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory, investment executive and advisor Dr. Todd E. Petzel delivers a grounded and insightful exploration of developments in finance since the advent of Modern Portfolio Theory. You'll find the tools and concepts you need to evaluate new products and portfolios and identify practical issues in areas like operations, decision-making, and regulation. In this book, you'll also: Discover why Modern Portfolio Theory is at odds with developments in the field of Behavioral Finance Examine the never-ending argument between passive and active management and learn to set long-term goals and objectives Find investor perspectives on perennial issues like corporate governance, manager turnover, fraud risks, and ESG investing Perfect for institutional and individual investors, investment committee members, and fiduciaries responsible for portfolio construction and oversight, Modern Portfolio Management is also a must-read for fund and portfolio managers who seek to better understand their investors.

NEW YORK TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BUSINESS BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE FT AND MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2019 'Reads more like a delicious page-turning novel...Put it on your holiday gift list for your favourite hedge-fund honcho' Bloomberg 'A compelling read' Economist 'Captivating' New York Times book review Jim Simons is the greatest moneymaker in modern financial history. His record bests those of legendary investors, including Warren Buffett, George Soros and Ray Dalio. Yet Simons and his strategies are shrouded in mystery. The financial industry has long craved a look inside Simons's secretive hedge fund, Renaissance Technologies and veteran Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman delivers the goods. After a legendary career as a mathematician and a stint breaking Soviet codes, Simons set out to conquer financial markets with a radical approach. Simons hired physicists, mathematicians and computer scientists - most of whom knew little about finance - to amass piles of data and build algorithms hunting for the deeply hidden patterns in global markets. Experts scoffed, but Simons and his colleagues became some of the richest in the world, their strategy of creating mathematical models and crunching data embraced by almost every industry today. As Renaissance became a major player in the financial world, its executives began exerting influence on other areas. Simons became a major force in scientific research, education and Democratic politics, funding Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign. While senior executive Robert Mercer is more responsible than anyone else for the Trump presidency - he placed Steve Bannon in the campaign, funded Trump's victorious 2016 effort and backed alt-right publication Breitbart. Mercer also impacted the success of the Brexit campaign as he made significant investments in Cambridge Anatlytica. For all his prescience, Simons failed to anticipate how Mercer's activity would impact his firm and the world. In this fast-paced narrative, Zuckerman examines how Simons launched a quantitative revolution on Wall Street, and reveals the impact that Simons, the quiet billionaire king of the quants, has had on worlds well beyond finance.

In recent times, derivatives have been inaccurately labelled the financial weapons of mass destruction responsible for the worst financial crisis in recent history. Inherently complex and perilous for the ill-informed investment professional they can however also be gainfully harnessed.

This book is a practical guide to the complexities of exotic products written in simple terms based on the premise that derivatives are not homogenous, and not necessarily dangerous.

By exploring common themes behind the construction of various structured products in interest rates, equities and foreign exchange, and investigating the economic environment that promoted the explosive growth of these products, this book will help readers make sense of their relevance in this period of economic uncertainty. Subsequently, by explaining exotic products with simple mathematics, it will aid readers in understanding their potential use in certain investment strategies whilst having a firm control over risk.

Exotic products need not be inaccessible. By understanding the products available investors can make informed decisions ensuring features are consistent with their investment objectives and risk preferences. Author Chia Chiang Tan takes readers through the risks and rewards of each product, illustrating when products can damage investment strategies and how to avoid them, leading to suitable, profitable investments.

Ultimately, this book will provide practitioners with an understanding of derivatives, enabling them to determine for themselves which products will fit their investment strategy, and how to use them based on the economic environment and inherent risks.

Strategies, tools, and solutions for minimizing risk and volatility in option trading

An intermediate level trading book, "The Option Trader Handbook, Second Edition" provides serious traders with strategies for managing and adjusting their market positions. This "Second Edition" features new material on implied volatility; Delta and Theta, and how these measures can be used to make better trading decisions. The book presents the art of making trade adjustments in a logical sequence, starting with long and short stock positions; moving on to basic put and call positions; and finally discussing option spreads and combinations.Covers different types of underlying positions and discusses all the possible adjustments that can be made to that positionOffers important insights into more complex option spreads and combinationsA timely book for today's volatile markets

Intended for both stock and option traders, this book will help you improve your overall trading skills and performance.

The Financial Futures Primer provides the reader with an introduction to the futures markets in general and financial futures in particular.